JV Schedule and Roster Changes

The Army JV marches back to Wien Stadium this October!


The athletic department released the 5-game JV schedule today and it sure has a gem of a game for game #4. A Homecoming Eve tilt at Wien Stadium against Army!

Here's the entire schedule:

Sun. Sept. 19 FORDHAM 1 p.m.
Sun. Oct. 3 at Princeton 11 a.m.
Sun. Oct. 17 WAGNER 11 a.m.
Fri. Oct. 22 ARMY 5 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 19 at Brown TBD


You know the drill for JV games, it's: "Where you can see tomorrow's stars, Today!"


Five Fewer

Five players have been removed from the Columbia varsity roster. They are: James Burrell, Ben Evans, Chris Paruch, Price Pinkerton, and Michael Williamson.

I don't know the reasons for the removals for all the players, but I do know Chris Paruch has been battling some very painful injuries and Williamson has transferred back home to South Carolina.

Evans seems like a really big loss as he was the backup to the now-graduated John Seiler at left guard much of last year. That doesn't mean Evans was the #1 new left guard on the depth chart, but he'll be missed.

This could mean that senior Prentis Robinson, who backed up Ian Quirk at right guard last year, is more of a contender to start this year. But they hate it in the football office when I speculate about starting lineups, so I'll stop there.

Pinkerton had incredible skills and Burrell came to Columbia from the great football "finishing school" Bridgton Academy. But remember that we still have a crowded field at wide receiver, with 11 bodies still on the roster and a bumper crop of speedy freshmen.

I don't mean to sound too optimistic, because I hate to see anyone drop off the roster. But the total number of players on the squad remains at historically high levels for this program and compared to the other Ivies in general.

One name I still don't see on the roster is former wrestler Ryan Sutherland, an outstanding athlete who made a nice tackle in the Spring Game. I look forward to seeing him listed as a linebacker soon.


Why am I so High?

Today, my fellow blogger Bruce Wood teases me a bit about how high I've been on the talent level for this Lion team.

I admit that I am very bullish on the talent of this squad, perhaps more than at any time since the 8-2 season in 1996.

But I am not exactly as cocky when it comes to definitively saying whether all this talent will translate into more wins in 2010.

It should, but the proof will come this fall and not before.

In too many past seasons, the big challenge for Columbia football has been how to deal with its relatively thinner talent level and how to spread its smaller roster over too many areas.

That just isn't the case anymore.

Now, it's about how to get its talented players and overall team to live up to their potential in the won-loss column.

Anyone who says these Lions don't have the weapons this year is just wrong. And if this sounds like I'm trying to quash the insults and excuses before anyone tries to make them... I am.

Anything short of winning season from this crew would be a disappointment, even from the objective point of view of a non-Columbia fan.

There, I said it.